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| Jung, L.A. (2016, June 13). Standards, grades, and feedback can be a powerful GPS for student success. #sblchat @CorwinPress. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/leeannjung |
I am using Diigo to keep track of my online research. Diigo is a "social bookmarking website that allows signed-up users to bookmark and tag Web pages. Additionally, it allows users to highlight any part of a webpage and attach sticky notes to specific highlights or to a whole page. These annotations can be kept private, shared with a group within Diigo, or be forwarded to someone else via a special link. The name "Diigo" is an acronym from "Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff" (Wikipedia, 2016).
The main reason I have chosen Diigo to do this is because I already have an account and have used it for sharing bookmarks with colleagues before. I'm not crazy about the aesthetics of it, but can't find another social bookmarking tool with all the convenient features that Diigo has. What attracts me most to it is the 'bookmarklet' extension that works within the Chrome browser. At the click of a button I can bookmark, annotate, screenshot, save for later, and share a page. And then within Diigo I can sort and organize the bookmarks with tags or in the Outliner mode. Here is a screenshot of the Outline I have created of all the SBG sources I have found thus far with my description of each. Click here to go to the live version of it.
As time progresses, I will be adding more sources to this list, especially those opposed to SBG. In googling "standards based grading" I have mostly found very positive, popular references to SBG. To find the opposite I added the word "cons" or "disadvantages" and found mostly parent groups or individual teachers opposed to it, or at the least vocal about the challenges or failures associated with its implementation.
At first I found random articles that were quite informative about SBG, but didn't know who or what authoritative sources to depend on for researched-based information. As I read more and more, I came across certain names and institutions repeatedly, which I decided to look into. Eventually I was led to multiple experts on Twitter, who have published (formally and informally) plenty of SBG related material that will greatly help my understanding and mastery of this topic.
Here are the experts I found online, with their Twitter handles:
Baltimore County Public Schools (@GradeSmarter)
Rick Wormeli (@rickwormeli2)
Thomas Guskey (@tguskey)
Lee Ann Jung (@leeannjung)
Marzano Research Laboratory (@MarzanoResearch)
Ken O'Connor (@kenoc7)
Matt Townsley (@mctownsley)
Most of these teachers and educational consultants have written multiple books and articles on SBG, and regularly travel the globe giving professional development seminars on the topic. I am excited and optimistic to connect with one of them for a future interview about SBG.
Sources:
Diigo. (2016, June 5). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:48, July 7, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diigo&oldid=723878341
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteIt's really nice to see another colleague having a tough time finding one side of an argument. I'm on the opposite end, where I am trying to find positive arguments/articles on virtual schools. Also like you I have found twitter to be a great search tool: the more people and organizations I follow, the more I get related accounts that help me branch out.
I don't know if it's just my topic in particular, but have you had issues with sponsored content? I noticed a lot of for-profit schools will post articles selling the idea while also trying to sell the product. Have you run into anything like that in your searches? Do those sorts of media still have some worth in them or does the attempt at a sale void it?
Thanks!
-Tom
That is a good question Tom. Marzano Research has books on SBG, and another source I found on SBG, ActiveGrade (http://activegrade.com/), exists to market a grading program for SBG schools. I see them as biased towards SBG, but they still have very relevant data to juxtapose with the opposition to SBG. I think what's most important in our research is that we try to give equal respect to both sides of the issue. I think it is ok to use biased sources on both sides, because they will have impassioned (and hopefully research-based) information to help us fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the topic.
DeleteI didn't think of it that way, it sort of reminds me of the dueling articles about iPads and children; the evidence is there one way or another, and each side will use it to their advantage. I think the bigger issue is what you mentioned: if they make a claim, they better have research behind it. That is definitely a key for me as I move forward!
DeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteIn our building, Pre-K through first grade uses standards based grading while second through fifth grade uses letter grades. Our superintendent is trying to get rid of SBG in the lower grades. (It goes to show you how out of the loop the district is. Unfortunately, they don't realize that the rest of the world is arguing for it, not against it.) In Tulsa, we had to do both letter grades and standards based grading, talk about overkill. I find it much easier to provide artifacts for SBG than I do letter grades. Letter grades are not always a true representation of their ability to perform each skill. I am looking forward to seeing your final project.
Nichole
Thanks for sharing Nichole. As I gear up for my new job's focus on SBG, I want to be as informed as I can, and it sounds like you have had a great experience with it. I hope I can glean more about SBG from you.
DeleteSo from your understanding, what % of schools in the U.S. are actually using SBG instead of or in addition to letter grades?
I agree that Diigo is not the most aesthetically pleasing tool. This, as result, has also dissuaded me from using the tool. With that said, there are many bloggers that use Diigo religiously. For example, Jamie Forshey is a popular blogger that shares her favorite web resources through Diigo.
ReplyDeleteCheck out her blog at: http://edutech4teachers.edublogs.org/
Thanks for sharing Jamie's blog. That looks very helpful!
DeleteHi Chris, Diigo sounds like a great tool! I especially am interested in the ability that it allows to highlight a section of text to specifically save from a webpage. That could be immensely helpful during a research project, and for a student-based project it provides clear advantages. I look forward to exploring Diigo's capability more myself. I use chrome a lot so I also like the extension that can be used. I find extensions very helpful and easy to implement in chrome for my own use. I look forward to learning more about your "standards based grading" topic! I noticed you have included multiple Twitter handles in your research. What advantages does twitter allow for during your research?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
-Kevin
Twitter is neat because it's a way to connect directly with and follow experts of your choosing. Those that I follow tend to share tweets that are very relevant for what I do. As far as helping with my research, all of the people I follow also have a corresponding website with multiple resources on the SBG topic.
DeleteHere is a great infographic to explain how teachers can use Twitter. https://edutech4teachers.edublogs.org/files/2015/05/effective-ways-to-use-twitter-2ix1wtu.png
DeleteHi Chris - The only time I used Diigo was for an instructional technology course. I did not find it too user-friendly, however I did feel the collaborative aspect was very good. This sounds like something I should give a second try! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteCurious to see how the outline feature holds up. In my mind, the sharing aspect was the weakest part of Diigo. As far as finding detractors to standards based grading, perhaps consider detractors to grading itself.
ReplyDelete